Xbox One X: What is it?

It’s a big mission statement, and one you’d be forgiven for taking with a pinch of salt.

However, for the Xbox One X, it’s totally true: there can be no doubt it really is the world’s most powerful console.

Similarly to the Xbox One S, the One X supports 4K HDR content and both have UHD Blu-Rays drives, too.

However, the One X also boasts six teraflops of graphical horsepower and is presented in a small, tidy black box, to boot.

It's Microsoft's most advanced console yet, and although it weighs in at an impressive £449.99, it's definitely worth the money if you want to have the smoothest, most immersive console gaming experience possible.

You can read our review below.

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Xbox One X: Initial Impressions

We've had a week with Microsoft's new console now, and we can say without any doubt that this is the most powerful machine we've ever played.

The Xbox One X manages to reverse a trend that’s been true of this generation so far: that is to say, as of the release of the Xbox One X, Microsoft has outrun Sony.

The Xbox One X outpaces the PS4 Pro at every turn: granted, Sony might have more console exclusives on its side, but in terms of performance, Microsoft seems to have got this mid-generation refresh nailed.

Even when it comes to third-party games, the performance on the Xbox One X is superior: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus performs better on the MS machine, for example - the action is smoother, the game loads faster and the textures and graphics seem to perform better on the console.

Even when playing older games via Backwards Compatibility, Microsoft has worked some kind of black magic to make them run better.

It's safe to say this console offers all the boons of an upgraded, high-tier PC but without the higher cost of entry and without all the faff of having to build it yourself.

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Xbox One X: 4K reviewed

There are currently only a few games that work in 4K on the Xbox One X - third-party publishers are due to roll out more updates over the next few weeks - as we write this Halo 5: Guardians just dropped its 4K update funnily enough - supporting over 70 games from launch.

But we got to play Assassin's Creed: Origins on the Xbox One X - and even though it's currently without the HDR patch, the visuals do still come in at 4K.

And the game looks stunning.

It's a testament to the power of the machine that the game performs so much better on this than it does on the standard Xbox One.

At one point, we played the Xbox One X version of the game alongside a launch day Xbox One - and we noticed some incredible differences.

Firstly, the Xbox One X version of the game loads about 12-20% faster than the vanilla version - proving that the Scorpio hardware inside the new machine really does improve performance, as well as visual quality.

Secondly, the draw distance seems to be better: whether it's just the resolution making the landscapes easier to read or whether the game actually has a tangible better in-game performance on the One X remains to be seen, but the immediate difference between the versions is massively noticeable.

We also played Xbox One X's flagship title, Forza Motorsport 7 on the Xbox One X.

Xbox One X: HDR reviewed

We also played Xbox One X's flagship title, Forza Motorsport 7 on the Xbox One X.

It's instantly clear that this was one of the games built specifically by Microsoft and developer Turn 10 Studios to show just how powerful the new kit is.

The game runs in native 4K, and operates smoothly at 60 frames per second. And the level of detail in the game is frankly staggering.

From the dynamic weather of the game changing around you as you race, to the incredibly detailed rendering of the livery and internal graphics in the cars, everything in Forza 7 seems to have been made by a developer that knows you're going to be ogling everything in 4K.

Compared to the base version of the game running on a standard Xbox One, there are some noticeable improvements: first up, the lighting engine is significantly improved, with real-time shadows and reflections coming off significantly better on the Xbox One X version of the game compared to the original.

Even down to the textures on the metals of the cars and the leathers of the seats, there is an impressive difference in the Xbox One X's version of Forza 7 and the rest of the game.

Xbox One X: Backwards Compatibility reviewed

It's interesting to note that Microsoft's engineers have figured out how to make games that were released up to 10 years ago work a treat on the Xbox One X.

When you import your account to the console, you'll note that many games you might have picked up on the 360 years ago can be downloaded to the machine and played alongside current titles.

What you might not recognise is that they may be upscaled to 4K, or at least run to look good on a 4K screen, and will perform better too.

We played a selection of games from the backwards compatibility programme - Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Halo 3 - and it's clear that for each game, the console's improved power helps them load and perform better.

In the case of Halo 3, we're sure it looks better too - but that could be due to the support games that come to Xbox One X get via going backwards compatible in the first place.

If you still have a collection of 360 games, it's just another bonus feature you're going to get via the Xbox One X that you don't get on Sony consoles.

Xbox One X: Best 4K TVs

For our own tests, we wanted to see how far we could push the machine on a budget 4K telly and therefore opted for Argos' own brand Bush 49" 4K Ultra HD Smart TV.

For a £400 unit, the TV has a sharp, bright screen and handles contrast incredibly well - which is always handy when you're dealing with stealth or horror games

We tested The Evil Within 2 on the TV, and thanks to its great handling of deep black, it dealt with the game really well.

We also used the Xbox One X to test the UHD Blu-Ray for Planet Earth II on the TV: the LED screen is incredibly good at showing off all the colour the show is composed with, and never seems to drop a pixel of quality when running through the console.

Thanks to the 50Hz motion rate, it's good for gaming, too - though you might want to look at screens with quicker refresh rates if you're super serious about playing games like Call of Duty or Halo competitively.

For the most part though, this is an incredible TV for the price. Just be aware that most Bush products don't offer HDR on top of the 4K - so if you want to absolutely get the most ouf of your Xbox One X, you're going to want a TV that offers both HDR and 4K.

But you're going to pay more for those.

Xbox One X: The Verdict

The Xbox One X is vital if you want the best gaming experience you can on a console.

Even compared to last year's PS4 Pro, the console exceeds every expectation. The 4K image quality is largely better than its Sony competitor - especially in first party games like Forza 7.

This is likely due to the games being made to run in true 4K, rather than being 'checkerboarded' to run at the higher resolution.

It's simply amazing how the console manages to even make older games with no specific support for the Xbox One X look better.

Microsoft's claim that the console is worth it on old, 1080p TVs is also true - however, the difference in loading times and slight performance increases perhaps isn't worth the money to grab yourself the console.

If you want to future-proof your living room for the next 5 years and are keen on making the most out of a proper 4K setup, however, this is an essential purchase.